


Here

by LPAnon



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV), Rizzoli & Isles
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-08
Updated: 2018-02-08
Packaged: 2019-03-15 07:37:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,125
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13608648
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LPAnon/pseuds/LPAnon
Summary: College AU. Jane and Maura are both popular in their own circles on campus. Jane, a scholarship athlete and Maura a scholarly sorority girl. One night, the two meet at a party and form an instant connection. So instant in fact, that they are the only two people that don't see that what they have may be more than just friendship.





	Here

“You look annoyed.” 

Pulling observant eyes away from the cloud of marijuana in the corner of the kitchen, the poised woman with honey blonde hair switched her attention to the stranger that had just spoken to her. She briefly raked her eyes from the beaten Chuck Taylors, and loose fitting boyfriend jeans, up to the solid gray t-shirt and black leather jacket with fringe, all topped with a mane of wild raven curls falling down her back. “And you look like you’re going to scratch someone’s cornea.”

Seeing the blonde’s slim fingers gesturing towards the fringe on her jacket, Jane Rizzoli smirked as she did an over-exaggerated shimmy. “Oh this gem? My brothers got it for me when I graduated high school. It’s a real crowd pleaser. Makes me feel like a badass, you know?” Seeing the chuckle that the blonde almost reluctantly released, Jane continued, “So are you going to tell me why you’re annoyed?”

“Are you trying to hit on me? Is that why you’re speaking to me?” The blonde slightly furrowed her brow in confusion, pulling her eyes away from the deep chocolate ones staring back at her. “Because if you are I feel as though I must tell you that I am not currently searching for a significant other, contrary to what my mother may believe I need to do. I simply don’t have time with my academia and extra-cur-“

“Woah, oh hey. Slow down there, buttercup.” Jane lifted her hands in slight trepidation. “I didn’t come over here to hit on you. Although I’m not saying I wouldn’t because look at you.” At this she glanced at the loose green dress and brown jacket that brought out the hazel of the blondes eyes. “And I mean, you wore heels to a house party which is super impressive-“

“I wear heels everywhere. They add an appealing aesthetic to the gastrocnemius and soleus muscles.”

“Um, yeah. Okay, sure. Your gastromucus and solar muscles look great. Definitely worth hitting on.” Jane had no idea what those muscles were but figured that everything looked great on this stranger so those muscles probably did too. “Not that I’m assuming you’d be into woman. That’d be crazy. It’s not like every single woman is a lesbian, or bi, or whatever-“

“I believe that sexuality is fluid for most people. I personally am attracted to both men and women. Why are you rambling?” With a curious head tilt the blonde lifted her cup to her mouth, hiding a playful grin. 

“Nervous habit. Can we start over? I’m Jane Rizzoli.” She reached a tan hand out. 

Smiling more genuinely and lowering her cup, the blonde returned the handshake, “Maura Isles. And to answer your earlier question, I probably look annoyed because this type of thing isn’t usually my scene. I feel moderately out of my element so I’m just observing. Unfortunately, my facial muscles have an underlying emotion of roughly 6%, where the average human has 3%, which sometimes makes me look unapproachable when in fact I’m merely resting my face. My best friend calls it RBF.”

Jane laughed at the quirkiness of this beautiful woman. “Ah the classic case of resting bitch face. Well I apologize for the misread and will let you continue to observe. I’ll just be over there.” As the brunette turned away, she felt long fingers latch on to her bicep through her jacket.

“No, you can stay. If you would like to, I mean. I don’t want to force you to stay and talk to me.” Letting go of Jane, Maura took another sip from her cup faking nonchalance as she glanced around the crowded room. 

Analyzing the woman in front of her, Jane reached across the counter and grabbed a half full handle of Jim Bean in the hand that was holding her cup and reached for Maura’s hand with the other. “Follow me.”

Glancing down at the offered hand, Maura hesitated a moment before placing her palm in the taller woman’s. Jane nudged her way through the crowd until she reached a sliding door that led out to the backyard. It was still bustling with people but the cool fall air made it seem much less congested. Noting that the trampoline in the corner of the yard was unoccupied, the brunette headed in that direction. 

“No. Absolutely not. I will not get up there.” Maura began to protest, gasping as Jane balanced her alcohol on the edge of the trampoline before grabbing her around the waist and hoisting her onto the edge, then gracefully hopping up beside her. “Jane, it isn’t polite to manhandle a woman that you just met.”

“My sincerest apologies, milady. My peasant upbringing has left my manners with much to be desired.” The raspy voice was dripping with sarcasm. “Plus, no jumping. Just a place to sit away from the crowd for a bit. I could barely hear you in there.”

Hazel eyes softened as she looked at the woman next to her, “Thank you.” 

“Sure.” Leaning back on her hands, Jane tilted her head towards the blonde. “So you go to BCU?”

Maura crossed her legs and leaned one hand back to look at Jane more closely. “I do. Pre-med, third year. What about yourself?”

“Pre-med, huh? Well, aren’t you just the regular Poindexter.” The corner of Maura’s mouth turned up, sensing that Jane was being playful rather than spiteful. “I’m here on athletic scholarship for volleyball. I’m studying criminal justice.”

Focusing more on Jane’s body, the blonde nodded. “Yes. You’re musculature seems very well suited for such a sport. Long bones and lean muscle. Is it genetic?”

“I guess.” Jane shrugged, biting her lip to keep from laughing at the passionate scientific response. 

“You’re quite lucky, then. Are you studying to be a lawyer?”

“Nope. I wanna be a cop. I could have gone straight to the Academy but a degree will help me move up to detective a little bit faster. Plus, I love playing volleyball so it all worked out really good.” Remembering the cheap liquor that she brought out with them, Jane took a long gulp straight from the bottle. 

Maura bit her lip to keep from correcting the taller woman’s grammar. Well. It all worked out really well., she thought. Instead she focused on Jane’s revelation. “A police officer? That’s wonderful, Jane. Incredibly noble of you.”

“Um, yeah. Thanks.” A tan hand ran through unruly curls, as she shrugged off the compliment. It was clear to the blonde that she didn’t take them very well. “I just really want to help people. And not all of us are smart enough to be doctors.” She added, nudging Maura with her shoulder. 

“Oh, hush.” The smaller woman looked back at Jane, marveling at how easily she had established a comfortable rapport with her. There was no doubt in her mind that the Italian was beautiful. All sharp lines, and excellent bone structure. But she had been around plenty of beautiful women and men who she’d never felt this comfortable with, this quickly. Jane just gave off such a relaxed and non-judgmental vibe that it made conversing with her seem like the simplest thing in the world. As she pondered this, the moderate silence was suddenly interrupted by a dark women with tight black curls. 

“Maura! I’ve been looking everywhere for you. Well, actually this is the second place I looked but still…And I see you’ve met Roly-Poly Rizzoli.” The dark woman grinned, taking Maura’s hand and pulling her down from the perch that she had found comfort on. 

“Shut it, Holiday.” 

“Wait, you two know each other?” Maura glanced back and forth between the two. 

Jane chuckled and jumped down from the trampoline so that they were all on even ground. “Sure do. Nina and I go way back. What eight years now?”

“Yes ma’am. Jane and I went to middle school together before my family moved to Chicago. When we ran into each other on campus one day, we reconnected and now we hang out every now and then. How do you two know each other?” Nina asked wagging her eyebrows in a clear implication. 

The blonde narrowed her eyes. “Jane was kind enough to come strike up a conversation when you left me alone for half an hour in the kitchen.”

“My bad…I told you that you’d make friends though.” Nina said with an unapologetic shrug. 

Observing the other two, Jane decided to bring it full circle. “Okay, I give. Maura, how do you know Nina?”

“Regrettably, she is my best friend.”

“Damn, salty. It was half an hour! You survived. Let it go.” Planting an obnoxious kiss on the blonde’s cheek, Nina turned back to Jane. “Maura loves me. I love her. We love each other. We hate our sorority. Instant bond. Friends forever.”

Maura laughed as she easily sensed the moment when Jane recoiled. “Yes, Jane.” She clarified before the other woman could even ask, “I’m in a sorority. Psi Beta Tau.”

“I mean, that’s cool.” She raised her hands in surrender. “But I thought you said you weren’t used to parties like this…”

“I’m not used to parties like this. I don’t go out with the girls too often. Like Nina said, I’m not a huge fan of the organization but that’s neither here nor there.” The blonde gave a graceful wave of her hand as if banishing the subject from the conversation. 

Finding a moment to jump in, Nina spoke up. “Right. So now that all of the relationships have been established here, I was coming to find you so that we can play a game of beer pong. It’s your turn on the roster. I signed you up. And since I’m assuming that I’m going to be your partner, let’s go ahead and-“

Maura interrupted her, “Jane, are you any good at beer pong?”

“I’m no Lebron but I can hit a shot or two.” The Italian said with a shrug.

“Be my partner?”

Nina gaped at the blonde. Maura gave her a sickly sweet smile and mocked, “It’ll be half an hour. You’ll survive. Let it go. Jane?”

“Let’s do it.”

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

“Okay, ladies. House rules are as follows; Both players make a shot, both balls go back to that team. If both players make the same cup, they pick three cups to remove and get balls back. If the ball lands on the table after a shot, either team could swipe it back but if the team who just shot retrieves the ball they must do a trick shot. Dudes shoot behind their backs and chicks shoot with their left hand. Throughout the game, you get two re-racks where cups will be arranged in the formation that you choose. Any questions?” The male driven opposing team had been playing for a majority of the night, having won the last five games back to back. After spouting off the rules as if they had rehearsed, they looked at Jane and Maura waiting for a response.

“Yes, actually.” Maura raised her hand. “What if I’m already left handed? What is my trick shot then?”

The tall redhead on the opposing team looked at her like she was an idiot. “Then you shoot with your right hand.”

“Then may I suggest in the future you clarify that the trick shot would be shooting with the non-dominant hand, seeing as 1 in 10 Americans are, in fact, left-handed.” Maura stated as she picked up the ping-pong ball that was rolled towards her from across the table. 

“And are you left handed?” He asked. 

“No. But my partner is.”

Jane looked up in surprise, “How’d you know that?”

“I’m observant.” Maura responded with a shrug before turning back to the guys. “Ladies first?” 

“Yeah, sure. Go ahead.” Their dark haired competitor finally spoke. 

Jane nodded, rolling the ball through deft fingers. “You want to go first, Maura?”

Admiring the quick skills of Jane’s long fingers, Maura shook her head demurely. “After you.”

Holding the ball between her thumb and forefinger, Jane sent the ball hurtling with a smooth arch. It dropped gracefully into the cup at the point of the triangle.   
“Excellent shot, Jane!” Maura encouraged enthusiastically before nudging the woman to the left so that she could line up her shot in the center. 

Jane furrowed her brow in confusion as the blonde placed the ball in the center of her flat palm, as though she were about to throw it like one would spike a volleyball. “Hey, Maura. Maybe try holding it like-“

Before she could finish her sentence, Maura had landed the ball in the exact same cup as she had. “You can take out the first and second row, please. Is that alright, Jane? It leaves us with a wider surface area to aim for which may provide some ease of shot.” Bright hazel eyes full of mirth looked towards the brunette. 

“Yeah, sure. That works for me.” Jane was still flabbergasted at how Maura’s unconventional technique had placed them in such a lead straight out of the gate. 

Rolling the balls back to the girls, the dark haired man spoke again. “Lucky shot.”

“Actually,” The blonde picked up the ball and held it out on her palm as though it were Show and Tell time. “It’s simple physics. Although the motion of the ball is three dimensional, the motion in each direction is independent of the other two and with a little basic physics I can calculate how high and how quickly the ball has to be thrown to make the shot. You see, in the vertical direction we have a constant downward acceleration due to gravity-“

“Hey, Poindexter,” Jane interrupted, seeing how overwhelmed everyone seemed to be getting with Maura’s explanation. “Maybe not so much on the science stuff right now.”

The blonde blushed in embarrassment. “Oh right. Sorry. I sometimes forget that no one wants to listen to scientific rambling all the time.” 

“Hey, no. I would love to hear all your scientific rambling about beer pong.” Jane responded with a tilted grin, “Just…not right now.”

A wide smile overtook Maura’s face. “Fair enough. Shall we continue?”

As the game progressed, it became clear as to why the opposing team had kept a tight hold on the table all night. Even with Maura’s application of physics, the men were matching them cup for cup. 

After the men sank another ball that left the game tied with two cups left for each team, Jane looked over to see a grimace on Maura’s face as she forced the beer down her throat. “You okay there, Maur?”

“Yes, I’m fine. Just still not quite inebriated enough to cloud my judgment about the questionable sanitation of these cups that have been used by multiple people over the last three hours.” Blonde curls shook as she finished the drink and put the cup with the other empty ones. 

“Maura, Jane…you guys are doing great. Awesome. A+ performance. May I offer some advice though?” Nina threw an arm over both of their shoulders and spoke so lowly that only the two women could hear her. 

“Sure. Watcha got, Holiday?”

“Well Jane, you’re doing great. Just keep doing what you’re doing. And Maura, while you’re also doing great, it may interest you to know that I once read in a rigorously peer edited research journal that being eye level with the cups while the other team throws really psychs them out. Something about neurological synapses and….stuff.” She offered a nearly convincing smile at the skepticism on Jane’s face. 

The blonde tilted her head questioningly. “Neurological synapses? What are you talking about, Nina? That makes no-”

“Just try it, Maura. I don’t know. For science.” The dark girl shrugged. 

“Well, okay. If it’s for some sort of observational research…”

“Yep, it is!” Nina slapped Maura between the shoulders. “Good luck!”

Jane raised an eyebrow as Nina retreated back to the crowd and Maura leaned over before the other team could take their second shot. Suddenly, she was quite aware of exactly why Maura bending over would “psych out” the other team. Eyes widening at the ample amount of cleavage that was now revealed to the men across the table, Jane’s eyes darted to Nina’s where she was met with a knowing wink. 

0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0

“Can you believe we won three games in a row? That was fantastic! I could’ve gone all night! Who would’ve thought that the eye level thing really worked! Nina, can you send me that article? I would love to read it!” Maura cried enthusiastically as she clumsily walked down the sidewalk after leaving the party, Jane and Nina on either arm. 

“Yeah, Nina. I would also love to read that article.” Jane added knowingly, carrying half of the petite blondes weight in order to keep her upright. Even though Maura’s IQ was sky high, her tolerance for alcohol seemed to be the exact opposite. Luckily, the smaller woman only lived a couple of blocks away. 

“Sure thing, guys.” Nina said between gritted teeth. So she knowingly exploited her friend’s cleavage for the sake of the game. She hadn’t heard anyone complaining about it

“Nina! Spend the night! Let’s have a sleepover! I love sleepovers. I didn’t have a lot when I was younger but when I went to boarding school I had a lot of sleepovers!” The blonde halted abruptly, tilting her head in remembrance. “Although most of the time we didn’t actually sleep, we usually were too busy-“

“Okay, Chatty Cathy!” Nina quickly put a stop to the drunken utterances. “Let’s get you upstairs. Jane, thank you for helping me get her home.”

“Yeah, no problem. I gotta get back and help my friends clean up a bit. You got her?” Jane felt buzzed but nothing like her beer pong partner felt. 

“Jane!” Maura reached out and ran her fingers through long dark curls.   
Jane scrunched her eyebrows, “Maura, what are you doing?”

“I’m looking for Corn Curls.” The blonde giggled.

“In my hair?”

“Yep. You have Corn Curls…in…your…curls.” As though it was the funniest joke she’d ever heard, Maura threw her head back in laughter. 

Grabbing the blonde’s hands and pulling her back towards her building, Nina spoke. “Okay, yeah. I got this. Go on ahead and get back, Jane. Text me when you get there so I know you’re good.”

Jane nodded and turned to go before feeling cold fingers around her wrist. “Jane, wait!”

“Yeah, Maur?” A broad smile split the Italian’s face. 

“Thank you. For talking to me tonight. I’ll see you around?” Green and brown irises swirled with hope.

Jane squeezed the hand that was still holding on to her wrist. “Absolutely.”


End file.
